Conference and banqueting Essay

This report presents a research into the banqueting and conference sector of the hospitality industry, focusing on size and scope of banqueting in UK and the importance that has grown in the past years because of world-wide conference and meeting development as well as and the financial evolution that has brought the segment to the national economy Conference and banqueting is normally about putting together an event and it usually have as a scope different forms of get-together like a ceremony, or a celebration, small gatherings, seminars, family events, birthday party or weddings. The event industry is a truly global industry with events being held each day around the world in different exhibition centre that host numerous events attracting local and international delegates.

1.1 What is the size and scope in Conference and Banqueting in UK? Banqueting is mostly related to hotels or any other different halls that can provide the space for any type of event even if this kind of service is now being hired by various food service companies, like restaurants, due to its profitability. The traditional meaning of the banqueting business is providing food and beverages to a group of people who will eat together at the same time. The scope of banqueting is to accomplish and deliver good service focusing most on celebration, bringing together a group of people for a certain event and to emphasis on food and beverage which can last for several hours.

Say it is now the 17th greatest industry in the UK

Here tell me about how the industry has developed from before 1 The scope of this event is to provide different types of benefits for destinations where we can include tourism, employment opportunities and financial growth. The market is estimated to be worth £40 billion to the UK economy (Bowden et al, 2013) , including spends at different occasions and in the wider destination by representatives and organisers.

There was an average of 379 events per venue in 2009, down slightly on 2008 (an average of 391 events per venue). Hotels and conference/training centres typically hosted more events than other types of venue, with hotels accounting for 61% of all business events. Banquet food and beverages in some large convention hotels, can account for as much as 70% or more of the combined total food and beverage percentage from all other services in the hotel, such as restaurant, room service and bars. In the UK are approximately over 10000 conference and banqueting venues that works with all the major hotel brands such as Hilton, Marriott or Best Western and there are estimated around 9.001,053 meeting rooms across the UK (Bowden et al, 2013). A Conference can be described as a meeting for consultation, exchange of information and discussion.

Some conferences have only a few delegates while others have several hundred. They may be held on behalf of a political party, to create a new image, launch a new product, communicate to employees or make some kind of public announcement. Venues vary and may include a hotel, dedicated conference venue, college or university campus. In modern days, conferences are thought to be one of the most important and essential aspects in globalization as it bridge the openings of numerous industries from one nation to a different one and it is facilitating various economies of various nations to be accepted all over the world.

Diversity of venues

An example of a large establishment that can cater for a range of conference and banqueting in Villa Park who have nominated in the prestigious M&IT Awards and are finalists in the category of best UK Unusual venue. Villa Park has different type of conference room available for hire on a match day or a non-match day. The hotel suite situated in the ground floor, accessed by its own car park can be used for a range of events including prestigious conferences, black –tie dinners and trade exhibitions. The director’s lounge is a perfect venue for intimate dinners, company seminars as well as the sky lounge being a popular choice for fashionable cocktails parties and networking events. Villa Park also has 108 executive boxes, available for hire on both, match days and non-match days.

These venues are perfect for accommodating company interviews, small scale-meetings and proposal. Community centres are similar to function halls are usually used to hold events that are more open to the public. They are usually in a central location within a town and easily accessible for a large number of guests at any one time .community centres are mainly used for gathering of the local community for social support and public information but are also often used more nowadays as cheaper option for small private function such as birthday celebration and wedding events. Many large hotels have expanded in recent years and now have a function room for hire for a wide range of customer and different occasions. A good example of this is a Fairlawn hotel and spa located in Aldridge.

During the week days the Fairlawn Hotel offer facilities and room for corporate customer where there is a rising demand for conference facilities to host private company meetings, private interviews and team building events. However the hotels have many family and social visitors looking for function room for hire again for special occasion such as private dances and weddings and another occasion .Fairlawn hotel host between sixty to eighty weddings, this mean they must meet this demand offering a range of rooms to hold between 10 and 100 guests.

1.2 How will Pestle affect Banqueting and Conference?

PESTEL stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal factors which may affect the business.

• POLITICAL

Political issues have a direct impact on conference and banqueting and it’s very important to maintain healthy political links with leading party leaders for goodwill of business. Some of the government mandates have a strong impact on hospitality industry that include, political stability or instability, tax policy, environmental law, trade restrictions.

• ECONOMICAL

Economic aspects have a substantial control about how an organisation does business as well as how commercial they are. Major aspects consist of – economic increasing, interest rates, exchange rates, inflation, disposable income of consumers and businesses.

• SOCIAL

Hospitality industry is one of the biggest employer institutes in United Kingdom; around 20% of the workers in Britain are involved in hotel and catering employment. It is contain the public freedom of movement, earnings allocation, and providing skills acquired. These characteristics consist in – residents growing, age dissemination, health consciousness, and career attitudes.

• TECHNOLOGY

The technology plays a vital role in business. Over the year the establishment is depends on the technology, the hospitality technology continues to provide a best and complete software solution to the hospitality sector.

• ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

The rising aspiration to care for the environment is to have a major control on numerous institute like hospitality or tourism and the general change regarding more ecologically, pleasant products and developments is affecting demand patterns and generating business opportunities.

• Legal Factors

Legal factors involve – health and safety instruction, different prospects, customer civil rights and rules, product labelling and product safety. It is normal that all companies want to know what is and what is not legal if they want to have success in business. In current years in the UK there have been many important legal changes that have affected company’s behaviour.

Administrative procedures

A function sheet is a very important aspect of administrative procedures that should be used when booking any type of conference, banquet and event not dependant on the size and scale of the function .it is the document that outlines the prices details of all service and requirements for a particular event. Details that are recorded on function sheets for any event include the name of the event, the name of the organiser of the event all the contact details of the organiser such as their address and telephone number, the date of the function ,both starting and ending times including when food will be served. The total prices per head, menu items that will be served any extra request such as decoration, flower, microphones and music. How much deposit is required, the date of enquiry and date for final payment for the event?

A booking diary is another very important document for any company hosting a range of conference, banquets and events within their establishment.it will enable all staff members from the management team through to the kitchen staff and front of house staff to keep track of the events in which they are going to be hosting and what they will need to do in order to prepare for them in advance. A booking diary will be contain all the basic information for each event usually set out in grid style format to make each day’s events easily recognised individually to avoid any mix –ups.

Information that is a recorded in a company’s booking diary includes the type of events, the room in which the event will be held , The time in which the event will start and finish at including any breaks which may take place ,the estimated numbers of guests that will be attending each event. The client who has organised the events contact details such as their names, address, and phone number and of course the price of each event that is being held.

A contract is a legally binding agreement made between two or more people that will outline every aspects of the event and must be signed by both the client and the company agreeing to host the event within their establishment. Once the contract has been signed further information will be supplied to the client and a deposit must be put down for event depending on the company itself. Sometimes companies will ask the client for the full balance of the event to pay in full at least two weeks before the event will be held.

The total price of any event held at all establishments will include everything that is required from the minutes the guests arrive until when the last guest leaves the event. This includes all of the extra products and services that a client may want but will be different for everyone such as flower, balloons, a red carpet for when the guest arrive, menu’s, place cards and hiring of equipment if they are not included in the room hire charge, a master of ceremonies, a band singer or entertainment and specific lighting that a client may require. Many companies offer discounting initiatives that are firstly recognised by clients looking for a particular venue or establishment to host their conference, event or banquet. It is often discounting initiatives that will draw the client into the company to find out more about what they have to offer.

Many companies use discounting initiatives such as two for one, buy one get one free, kids eat free ,free refills or any soft drink as well as loyalty or bonus cards which will reward them with something free after they have chosen to buy the company’s product or services a number of times. This is a way in which companies encourage repeat custom and persuade customers to return to the company to book with them. Space utilisation is a very important aspect that must be considered by the company themselves and the client looking to book a particular area to host an event.

Large scale companies that host many events and conferences throughout the year usually have a few different styles of seating arrangements that can be selected by the client but most importantly agreed by the companies’ event organiser. This is to ensure that all health and safety risks are minimised as well as fire escape exists, escape roots and assembly points are accessible. Seating arrangements for an event must also be arranged that there is enough space for serving the guests especially if the client requires a meal to take place during their event.

Food production system

This involves all the process needed to serve any amount of people within a range of establishment in the industry today, from hotels to cafes and five star restaurants. These processes include everything from growing and harvesting the ingredients needed. Often locally sourced to maintain quality, processing these goods, packaging, transporting cooking or regenerating them as well as the disposal of these product afterwards. A conventional food production system involves a range of different chef assigned to one food production process within a kitchen environment. It is often used in traditional, fine dining restaurant where goods that are perishable are often used.

Popular food production system used within a establishment where there is a large demand for a range of dishes at one time are both cook-freeze and cook-chill system. These systems are used by a range of companies within the industry including the fine dining restaurant , hotels, fast foods restaurant as they are able to produce large amount of food giving the product an extended shelf life while achieving a reduction in food and labour cost, practice safe food handling as well as maintaining portion control throughout the establishment.

Food production styles and services

C&B are often used for larger events and function such as wedding, birthday party, receptions, large scale dinners and company related events. There are different types of service styles available for banquets events which must be chosen carefully based on nature and ambience of each event. Buffet style food production is very appropriate for events where there are a large amount of guests in one room. This is where a large number of foods is presented on tables away from guesting area. Sit –down service is used for a more formal event where there are fewer guests as serving each individual can be time consuming .this service involves guests receiving their food at table, served by waiting staff members.

Silver service is very formal service style used for a smaller group of guests as it is very time consuming. Silver service that involves the use of a spoon and fork to serve food from a platter to a guest’s plate while seated at a table. According to rule of C&B this way of serving is to always serve to the left .so the server ,or host will always serve the guest to their left first and then work around the table until everyone has their food .the arrangement of components is an important part of silver service and is notably well done , so the table looks high quality and formal.

• CONCLUSION

As a personal conclusion I consider that to have success in this sector or any other from hospitality industry we need to always be one step ahead trying to know in advance what the clients want and need, paying a special attention to details and have great opportunity to make every event memorable. I consider that the progress of the conference and banqueting industry is a beneficial and supportive thing for the people by generating employment that leads to attracting visitors and also making revenue. It featured the UK’s change exclusively London in one of the most significant for events all over the world. 5